Biography

Eugene Moss, 26 January 1914, Hancock County, Georgia, USA, d. October 1984, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. It was as a harmonica player that Moss first appeared on record, in 1930, as one of the Georgia Cotton Pickers with Barbecue Bob and Curley Weaver. Although he apparently learned guitar from Bob, his playing was distinctly in the ragtime-inflected Eastern blues tradition of artists such as Blind Blake. Moss had his own style, however, a carefully crafted blues sound that later established his name as one of the most popular Atlanta-based singers of the 30s. He recorded prolifically between 1933 and 1935, sometimes backed by Weaver and occasionally Blind Willie McTell. On later dates he teamed up with Josh White and the two musicians accompanied each other on their respective recordings. Altogether, Moss made over 60 tracks in these three years, but there followed a long hiatus when he was sentenced to a prison term soon after the 1935 session. He was released in 1941...